ISO 9001 vs. Six Sigma
Six Sigma is a statistically-based process that strengthens organizational ability for ongoing business process improvement. “Six Sigma” or “six standards of deviation” endeavors to reduce defects to a rate of 3.4 defects per million defect opportunities by identifying and eliminating causes of variation in business processes. In defining defects or errors, Six Sigma focuses on developing a clear understanding of customer requirements and is therefore very customer focused.
ISO 9001 and Six Sigma serve two different purposes. ISO 9001 is a quality management system, while Six Sigma is a strategy and methodology for business performance improvement. ISO 9001, with guidelines for problem solving and decision making, requires a continual improvement process in place but does not indicate what the process should look like. Six Sigma can provide the needed improvement process. However, it does not provide a template for evaluating an organization’s overall quality management efforts whereas ISO 9001 does.
